Medicina hospitalaria a 15 años de su implementación: ¿Cuáles son los potenciales beneficios en nuestro medio?

After 15 years of development of Hospital Medicine in Chile, there are several benefits of this discipline. Among others, a reduction in the length of hospital stay, readmissions, costs, and improved medical teaching of students, residents and fellows have been observed. However, in South América there are only isolated groups dedicated to Hospital Medicine in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, with a rather slow growth. The unjustifiedfear of competitionfrom sub specialists, and the fee for service system ofpayment in our environment may be importantfactors to understand this phenomenon. The aging of the population makes imperative to improve the safety of our patients and to optimize processes and resources within the hospital, to avoid squandering healthcare resources. The following is a detailed and evidence-based article, on how hospital medicine might benefit both thepublic and prívate healthcare systems in Chile.